


Squeeze

by false_alexis



Category: Captain America (Comics), Marvel 616, Nomad: Girl Without a World
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Getting Together, No Plot/Plotless, Prom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-19
Updated: 2013-08-19
Packaged: 2017-12-24 01:22:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/933463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/false_alexis/pseuds/false_alexis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anya fixates on the silliest things. It turns out Rikki doesn't mind so much.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Squeeze

**Author's Note:**

  * For [snowynight](https://archiveofourown.org/users/snowynight/gifts).



> Set roughly during the stories that occur in the 'Captain America' (vol. 5) b-comics, and cheerfully ignoring some later canon.

 

(Rikki appreciated Anya, she did, but sometimes she just found the other girl exhausting and confusing. Even ordinary conversations could spin into weird tangents, and, well, she was never sure where Anya was going with anything. Being friends was harder than she'd thought.)

 

***

 

"Seriously, though, who says squeeze?"

"Anya. Anya. That was weeks ago."

"But it bothers me."

"Alright, well, what would you say?"

"I don't know. Date. Hook-up. True love. Boyfriend. Girlfriend. Sugar dad-"

"Do you ever stop?"

"You'd be so sad if I did."

 

***

 

(Rikki finally bribed her into leaving it alone by offering to trade notes on American History. This had the unusual effect of Anya learning more of what Rikki's section concentrated on than of what her own section paid attention to, which produced a reasonably well-educated girl and an absolutely abysmal grade on the first exam.

Study sessions became hang-out sessions that lead into night-time patrolling. Anya was always ready to head out and hit the streets, while Rikki sometimes found herself arguing for staying in and studying more, or convincing Anya's Papa to cook them dinner, or even just watching _10 Things I Hate About You_ one more time.

She'd never been the reticent one before, but the two of them struck good balance.)

 

***

 

"Okay, so, if you went out bowling, does that make someone your squeeze? One bowling date, or many times bowling? Would it matter how many games you played in one night? What if you were there with a group, and your squeeze? Oh, my god, you and Steve- hah, I'm calling him Steve, that's never gonna get old- have a thing about bowling, right? So if you brought someone along them, does that count as introducing your squeeze meet the family-"

"What does it take to get you to stop?"

"Take me bowling."

 

***

 

(The last time she'd been bowling, the kid who worked the counter has been crushing on her something pathetic. His coworker had been much cooler, however, and along with apologizing profusely said cool coworker had told her to come back and he'd see she had a less weird time. It wasn't hard to persuade him to waive the game fee, and when she told the story at the food counter they got curly-fries on the house.

It was a blast, from start to finish, and Anya was equally impressed with Rikki's skill at selling a story and her ability to bowl in a straight line, something Anya herself lacked. When the UV lights and disco music came on, Anya challenged her to a disco dance off, which they both lost to a middle aged man with an astonishing beer gut.

Rikki put the stubs from the shoe rentals under her pillow for the rest of the year.)

 

***

 

"Nice dinner. Definite squeeze activity."

"Ugh."

"What? You don't like nice dinners?"

"I like being outdoors. Appreciating the city. You've got this park, it's great."

"Mmm, picnics. Picnic food. You know, the only time in my life I've ever had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches is on picnics?"

"Seriously? You don't like peanut butter and- wait, no, Anya, this isn't another plan that involves-"

"Plan? What plan? I was talking about food. And squeezes!"

 

***

 

(It turned out tote bags worked just as well as picnic baskets. Rikki dutifully made peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, cutting off the crusts just for the opportunity to tease Anya abut them. 

They picked a day that was almost, if not quite, spring, and bundled accordingly. They made up names and personalities for the dark clouds that rolled in as they sat, until they were driven away by approaching weather.

Still, huddling in warm jackets meant they got the Sheep Meadow nearly to themselves, and the cold made splurging for hot chocolate (Anya) or coffee (Rikki) even more rewarding.

For the rest of the season every time Rikki looked up, she wondered what Anya would think /that/ cloud looked like.)

 

***

 

"Okay, so, I don't think sitting by the bedside of the wounded is 'squeeze' activity. Except, maybe, I don't know. I guess I just can't picture nineteen-forties actresses with smoke billowing around their perfect make-up waiting for their 'squeeze' in a hospital bed. Can you? Can you really?"

"Anya. It's the school infirmary. I got hit during gym class-"

"I can't believe you got hit during gym class-"

"not taken out by... one of our evening acquaintances."

"Ugh, you manage to make them sound even sleazier."

"Anya."

"Rikki."

"Shut up. You're ministering to the convalescing."

 

***

 

(Anya brought her her homework. She also wrote a silly poem about feeling better:

"You may be hit upon the head  
At least volley-ball's not made anyone dead.  
Villainy is taking a brand-new turn:  
Sports are something no one should have to learn!"

Rikki thanked her the homework, and asked that Anya please promise to never write anything that rhymes ever again.)

 

***

 

"Can't believe we're at junior prom time."

"It's expensive-"

"There are ways. Come on. Even if you don't have a proper 'squeeze'."

"You're impossible."

 

***

 

(Rikki thought that Anya would drop it. That turned out to be grossly optimistic. Two weeks later Anya turned up with a ticket in her own name, and one in Rikki's. Rikki swallowed her pride and turned to the greatest expertise in looking presentable and being competent she'd ever know.

Two days later she was stuck in a deep admiral blue dress with a divided skirt. It rode off her shoulders, and the shoes Natasha announced she would wear with it were blessedly low. Jewelry appeared, but it was small, respectable, and probably only costume stuff.

Probably.

Anya looked amazing; she had compromised with her Papa, and done fancy hair and makeup while wearing a remarkably feminine tux. Her mother's jewelry They took the subway, and laughed when tourists stared at them.)

 

***

 

Two hours into the dance- junior prom- it had gotten stale. The soda had gone flat, the punch had been spiked (by students) and promptly removed (by chaperones). The student D.J.s had decided they needed to blend the best of club music and the seventies while exploring the upper limits of the sound system. The resulting noise had driven the girls out into the hall, where the music was listenable but not deafening.

"Are you having fun?" asked Anya. She seemed anxious, trying to bounce on her toes but always forgetting that she was wearing heels to begin with, and coming down too hard. Rikki laughed at her when she jerked forward and caught her, stopping her from losing her balance.

"Nice moves, hero," she said.

"Yeah, whatever. But if you're not having fun, we can go-"

Rikki held up a hand. "Whoa, I didn't say I wasn't having fun. Thank you for, you know, this." She waved at the room behind them. It was kind of strange, and the emphasis Anya put on this evening confused Rikki. They still had plenty of high school ahead of them. They even would get a real prom someday. (Well, Anya would; Rikki didn't really plan on going to that.)

Anya continued to bounce. "Good, 'cause if you're not having fun, we can go-"

"Oh my gosh, Anya, what are you so worried about?" Rikki snapped.

Anya's face fell. Rikki felt terrible. This evening was important to Anya, doing it together was important to her, and even if Rikki didn't understand it she didn't want to mess up their evening. They got few enough 'normal' nights as it was.

"Sorry," she said, and pulled her friend into a hug. Anya hugged her back right away, and the guilt and fear started fading.

They stood eye to eye, arms around each other, for a moment. Anya smiled at her, and Rikki found herself smiling back.

Anya kissed her.

It wasn't what she had expected, but in that moment it made perfect sense. She tried kissing back, a little clumsily. It took them a moment to figure out what to do, bumping into each other until Rikki bruised her lip against Anya's teeth. Then they steadied, and Anya kissed her again, and it was wonderful and frightening. She was terrified in a way no two-bit villain or half-assed criminal had ever scared her. There was a softness to Anya that Rikki found unsurprising, something sweet and easy to hold.

Anya pulled back with a murmur. Rikki blinked. She felt her face flush a terrible red, and she wasn't sure if it was nerves or exhilaration. "Uh, that was..." she trailed off, not sure where to go from there.

Fortunately, she seemed to be the only one with that problem. Anya kissed her again, soft and gentle, like a reminder that they were supposed to be doing this.

"Okay?" asked Anya.

Rikki thought that from then on the smell of hair gel and vanilla bodymist would send her back to that moment. "Yeah." She took a deep breath. "That was alright."

"Just alright?" Anya grinned, and Rikki realized that maybe she wasn't the only one feeling nervous. The thought brought her a strange sort of courage. If they were both afraid, then they both cared. The realization that she cared about this, about the two of them together in a way she hadn't previously imagined, made her catch her breath.

"Maybe better than alright, but I think we need practice.

"Honestly, you and all this practice, practice, practice. You're lucky I like you."

"I guess I am." She kissed her again. "So, does this make you my squeeze?" Rikki asked.

"Pretty sure that happened a while ago."

"I can live with that." 

 

***


End file.
